Financial Reform in the US faces formidable pitfalls domestically with a Nope-A-Dope Republican Senate invigorated by the Supreme Court “no holds barred to campaign funding” decision. Despite being in a minority position, the Republicans can stall and effectively defeat any financial reforms that don’t meet their requirements – and those are still aligned pretty closely […]
Financial Reform: The International Factor Read More »
One of the many problems on Wall Street and Institutional Financing worldwide is the Proprietary Trading by banks and other financial institutions. This is where they use portions[sometimes dangerously large portions] of depositor/clients cash to enable themselves totrade in potentially highly lucrative own account positions in the volatile and risky derivative and other shadow markets.
The Volcker Rule:Proprietary Trading Read More »
“Stock Pickers Suckered” is the title of a very interesting article in the latest Economist. What it shows is how easily top CEOs are able to bamboozle supposedly tried and true equity analysts. The study published in the Academy of Management Journal in its February 2010 issue is best characterized by its title – “A
Stock Pickers Suckered Read More »
There is a battle going on in the Senate over Financial Regulation – and one of the skirmishes divides the Financial community on Fiduciary Trust. It is a case of Brokers versus Financial advisors. Brokers-dealers [think Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, etc] are resisting fiercely having to adhere to the Fiduciary Trust standards that Financial and
Brokers Battle Against Fiduciary Trust Read More »
Back in 2005 when Steve Jobs announced the transition from IBM Power PC chips to Intel PC chip [yep same one that were and are used in Windows-based PCs], the Mac community was flabbergasted. Many raised the question how were Macs going to distinguish themselves from Windows PCs now that nearly everything was the same
For $499 Steve Jobs Tries to Make Amends Read More »
Slate has some excellent commentary and investigation on how the Supreme Court reached the concepts of Money being equal to Speech and a Corporation is equivalent to an individual. These two concepts are the critical flaws in the Supreme Courts granting unlimited campaign funding rights to Corporations and any other special interest group. Here is
Money is Speech and a Corporations is equivalent to an Individual Read More »
Frank Rich of the NYTimes provides another update to this article in his opinion piece “After the Massachusetts Massacre”. Rich argues that the problem for President Obama has been that he failed to make jobs and financial regulation top priorities. Here is the core of what he had to say: Obama’s plight has been unchanged
Update:Finance and Economics -The Obama Achilles Heel Read More »
Slate’s Big Money blog has a curiously titled story partly via the NYTimes – apparently the new CEO of Morgan Stanley is “definitely not a slimeball”. Now given that Morgan Stanley is a member of the exclusive “Too Big To Fail” club of financheevil institutions [uhh, financial institutions, since “banksters” does not seem completely satisfying,
New Morgan Stanley CEO “Not a Slimeball” Read More »
‘Banksters’ is a term seen increasingly in the Blogosphere. It is used to describe the top executives at the “Too Big To Fail” banks and financial institutions. By alliteration, it suggests that these people are gangster-like. Let see if the shoe fits. 1)The Banksters are all in some form of financial business. 2)The Banksters are
Banksters – a Defintion Read More »
The Obama administration just got its wake up call. All this past weekend the various news programs were grading Obama over the past year’s presidency. If you were Democratic the grades were close to Barack’s own, a B+ average. If you were Republican, the grades were draconian – D or worse. If you were Rush,
Massachussetts Wake-up Call Read More »
One of the consistent arguments against curtailing large bonuses to executives and staff advanced by banks and investment houses is that the “talent” will move to other financial centers. But there are only 5 or 6 places in the world which have the financial infrastructure that “talent” would be willing to move to – New
Switzerland Loses “Competitive Advantage” Read More »
Today the first of the bonus and pay packets made by the major, “Too Big To Be Allowed To Fail” banks will go “on record”. The banksters are hoping the fury over this will tamp down in the next few weeks and go away. Here are some reports that say it will not: Christian Science
Banksters Pay Issue Not Going Away Read More »
Watching the Congressional Financial Crisis Commission hearing under Congressman Peter Angelides the past two days has been as enthralling as watching screeching chalk writing on a blackboard. It is so discordant. This is Kabuki Theater where all the players know their roles and the only question is who will break form or slip up. The
Wall Street Banksters Disqualify Themselves Deliberately Read More »
The alliteration of TeaParty Tempest suggests that all this disaffection is just some passing storm. The radical right and Republicans making fruitless static. Not quite so. The problem stems from Yes We Can becoming more like We Dare Not as the Obama Administration continues to: a)give kid glove treatment to Wall Street and the bankers
Teaparty Tempest & Financial Reform Read More »
I remember when we used to play a game in our jaunty youth – Scott Free. The idea was to get away with some thing downright bad – throw a snowball at a passing car or truck’s windshield, steal more than three apples from the market, scribble all over the North Alton Movie theater placards.
Thor Point 2: Scott Free from Financial Reform Read More »
There is a story in this month’s Wired , Uranium is So Last Century— Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke. What is fascinating about this story is the backdrop. 1)The technology behind thorium as a replacement for uranium is American and starts in the late 1950’s with the publishing of the 978 page tome, Fluid
Thorium Point on Energy & Finance Read More »
I have been spending no small amount of time praising the NYTimes for adapting quickly to the digital onslaught. The Times currently leads the US major news media with very intelligent use of JavaScript and other components/ mashables in its online edition. As well the company has produced what I expect to be a fixture
NYTimes Takes Friendly Fire From Own Writer Read More »
Christmas on Wall Street was another Tiger Woods story. The New York Times articles title says it all – Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It and Won. Let me paraphrase. Banks like Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan and others created and sold derivative intruments that made them money and then took the counter position
Christmas on Wall Street Read More »
Lloyd Blankfein is CEO of investment bank Goldman Sachs – and last Tuesday he did what few other CEOs in the banking and financial industry have even contemplated doing. He apologized for … what did he apologize for? ““We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret,” “We apologize.” – NYTimes
Blankfein’s Sorry Apology Read More »
Given the report from the Wall Street Journal that the banks are bonusing themselves this year at $140 Billion more than 2007’s $130 Billion despite a)still being dependent on bailout money and deficit causing extremely low Fed funds interest rates; b)having lightened their staff employment by 10-30% surviving staff are getting monster bonuses; and c)yet
Capital Disaffection Read More »
The NYTimes Financial Market information services is proof that the old lady can hiphop with the best in the Web 2.0 world including Google. In our two previous postings, the NYTimes showed how novel use of the Tabs , Charts and Thumbnail widgets could a)provide a novel and Google-beating Markets Overview and b) some of
NYTimes Gives Google a Real Run for the Money 3 – Stock Screeners Read More »
Our previous review of the NYTimes Markets found it to be well ahead of the competition [including Google, Microsoft Money, Reuters, SEC’s Edgar and others] in providing broad [and free] Markets data in a comprehensive yet concise essential summaries. But this is only the broad Markets data. This review will look at the fundamental stock
NYTimes Gives Google a Real Run for the Money 2 – Stock Charts + Fundamentals Read More »
Taketh5th has been featuring articles about the high caliber of Google’s free stock and financial information services. Well almost stealthily the NYTimes has really polished its equivalent stock and financial services such that All the News Fit to print appears to be giving Google a real run for its money. Go to the NYTimes Markets
NYTimes Gives Google a Real Run for the Money 1 – Market Overview Read More »
Pfizer really has put itself behind the eight ball in new drug development. Now Pfizer has added on coating of corruption as a settlement with the DOJ indicates appalling practices. When you read the indicting summary at WSJ’s Marketwatch – well “do no evil less than a weasel” and the Hypocritic Oath immediately come to mind:
The Economist has an article that argues that Big is Back as very large corporates weather the economic downturn [with help from their ‘too big to fail’ friends] much better than small businesses. And instead of offering a treacle on Big is Better, the Economist splits the difference and in good centrist fashion finds virtue
The Economist: Big is Black Ink Read More »
Now that the Swiss government, the US Internal Revenue Service and the major Swiss bank, UBS, have agreed to dislose up to four thousand US tax evaders names and details who have secret accounts in Switzerland in order to avoid paying US taxes – the Ship Hits the Fan. Unlike in the case of Financial
WSJ: Fess up or Keep Silent? Read More »
The Big Fall ShootOut at the IT Corral Listen up folks, specially you Stock Investors looking for Big Gains – they is going to be a big and bloody ShootOut at the IT Corral this Fall. And them thar Whipper Snappers are in such a fowl mood this BloodBath may continue write to the Winter.
ShootOut at the IT Corral Read More »
The NewScientist in its July 25,2009 issue has an essay by Dr. Terence Kealey, Falling out of love with market myths. The essay advances the argument that conservative Economic theories are derelict. These theories were barely tenable originally, have dwindled in efficacy with the emergence of huge secret/shadow and non-transparent financial markets from derivatives through
Imperfect Financial Markets Read More »
The NYTimes has done a 3 page story on Mozilla and its most important product, the Firefox browser. This story is notable for 5 reasons. First, it is about browsers and the role that browsers are playing in not just the PC but also smartphone and the broader Cloud Computing marketplaces. It also is
NYTimes Looks at Mozilla Firefox Read More »
Nortel was once the biggest tech employer in Canada. It has benefited from billions of dollars in tax breaks and special funding from the Canadian government. It has fallen on hard times – and was seeking a bailout from the Canadian government. The Canadian governement said no deal. At about the same time, Chrysler and
In his NYTimes article, the Joy of Sachs, Paul Krugman underlines one of the fundamental business problems confronting the US. Is the US Government going to continue to “invest” in the Financial Industry by not making any meaningful regulations? Is the US going to allow crowding out of other industries by not controlling Financial compensation
Doing More than Blowing Financial Bubbles Read More »
The Financial Times of Friday, July 3 2009 has a story about how a”rogue oil broker” triggered a price spike in Oil Prices. A single trader for PVM Oil Associates in London bought 8m barrels of oil in “unauthorized trading” causing the price at $71 to spike to $73.50. That position later had to be
Oil Speculation: Proof Again Major Markets Can Be Played Read More »
